The 5th international conference on Lactoferrin will be held at the Banff Conference Center, Canada from May 4-9, 2001. Lactoferrin is a non- heme iron binding protein that is a secreted by surface epithelial cells into the mucosal environment, by glandular cells into milk and mucosal secretions and is released by neutrophils at sites of infection. Lactoferrin is a key component of the innate immune defense system. Lactoferrin functions as a broad range antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent whose expression is rapidly upregulated in response to a wide variety of environment stimuli. The goal of the conference is to bring together international experts from both within the lactoferrin research field and in related areas outside the field to review the state-of-the-art and prioritize future objectives with regard to: 1) Production and characterization of lactoferrin for use in mechanistic and efficacy studies, 2) The structure function relationships of lactoferrin with regard to the transferrin family and its role in regulation of iron homeostasis, 3) Physiological and environmental factors regulating the expression of the lactoferrin gene, 4) Molecular mechanisms of interaction of lactoferrin with both bacteria and mammalian cells, 5) Antibacterial and antiviral activities of lactoferrin, and 6) Role and molecular mechanisms of growth inhibition of tumor cells by lactoferrin. There have been significant developments in this field in the past few years, most notably in the successful development of recombinant lactoferrin production systems for human clinical studies, increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms of environmental regulation and mode of action of lactoferrin, and most importantly a dramatic shift in emphasis from in vitro assay systems to preclinical and human clinical model systems to address lactoferrin's functions and efficacy in vivo. The conference is timely given the rapid development in this area and urgent need to identify alternative approaches to conventional antibiotic therapies for the treatment of infectious disease and immune compromised patients. The ability of components of the first line of defense including lactoferrin to rapidly combat a broad range of microbial and chemical challenges encountered at mucosal surfaces provides one of the most promising approaches to meet this need over the next decade.